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[MLB.COM] St.Louis Cardinals sign Juan Encarnacion

Discussion in 'Houston Astros' started by rikesh316, Dec 23, 2005.

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  1. rikesh316

    rikesh316 Member

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    Cross one more name of the list Timmy.

    http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/NA...t_id=1286896&vkey=news_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl

    By Matthew Leach / MLB.com

    ST. LOUIS -- Continuing a recent tradition, the Cardinals waited until the last minute to do their Christmas shopping. The Cards have agreed to terms with free-agent outfielder Juan Encarnacion on a three-year contract worth a reported $15 million, filling their vacancy in right field.
    Encarnacion's agent, Eric Goldschmidt, confirmed the deal on Friday morning, though a physical is still pending. Club officials were unavailable for comment.

    "There were quite a few teams interested in Juan," Goldschmidt said. "At one time we had probably nine or 10 clubs in the mix. Juan's preference was to play right field. There were a lot of clubs looking at him as a center fielder, but he wanted to play right field, he wanted to play on a competitive ballclub and if possible, he wanted to stay in the National League and stay off the West Coast."

    He accomplished all those goals and will step into the spot vacated when Larry Walker retired following the 2005 season. Encarnacion is the second member of the 2003 Marlins World Series championship team to sign with the Cards this winter, joining right-handed reliever Braden Looper.

    It's the third straight year that St. Louis has made a significant acquisition after December's Winter Meetings but before the Christmas-New Year's shutdown. Last season, the Cards signed free-agent shortstop David Eckstein and traded for Mark Mulder in late December. In 2003 they signed free agents Jeff Suppan and Reggie Sanders soon after the meetings.

    Encarnacion, who will turn 30 during Spring Training, is coming off one of the best seasons of his career. The right-handed hitting Dominican Republic native batted .287 and managed a .349 on-base percentage, with both being the highest full-season marks of his career. Encarnacion hit 16 home runs and slugged .447, driving in 76 runs and scoring 59 in 506 at-bats with Florida.

    He's a lifetime .268/.316/.440 hitter who has 128 home runs and 119 steals in 1,028 career big league games. Encarnacion has played for Detroit, Cincinnati and the Dodgers as well as the Marlins in a career that began in 1997.

    Encarnacion is considered something of an all-or-nothing player. He has the ability to hit for power -- including 24 home runs in 2002 -- but rarely walks and has often posted low on-base percentages. His defensive profile is similar, a player who has a strong arm and can make spectacular plays but sometimes makes unnecessary mistakes.

    In a revamped Cardinals lineup, Encarnacion likely slots as the regular right fielder alongside Jim Edmonds, with Larry Bigbie projected as the starter in left. He might slide into the No. 6 spot in the batting order, between Scott Rolen and Bigbie.

    The only remaining question in the Cardinals order is at second base. Aaron Miles, Hector Luna and Deivi Cruz may battle for the job, or the club could still sign one more free agent -- Willie Harris and Junior Spivey are both considered candidates.
     
    #1 rikesh316, Dec 23, 2005
  2. Rocketman95

    Rocketman95 Hangout Boy

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    He wanted to play right. We have a much cheaper RF who's just as good.

    Players have to want to play for us too, you know.
     
    #2 Rocketman95, Dec 23, 2005
  3. Major

    Major Member

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    Correction: We have a much cheaper RF who's notably better.

    I'd be pissed if we paid $5MM for a backup outfielder.
     
    #3 Major, Dec 23, 2005
  4. Hey Now!

    Hey Now! Member
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    my guess is that he scratched it off prior to the FA season beginning... the idea is to get better.
     
    #4 Hey Now!, Dec 23, 2005
  5. The Cat

    The Cat Member

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    *whew*

    I'd almost prefer playing Mike Lamb or Luke Scott to Encarnacion. I'm as desperate to acquire corner OF help as anyone, but I'm thrilled that this one is off the list. His 2005 has career year written all over it.
     
    #5 The Cat, Dec 23, 2005
  6. Hakeem06

    Hakeem06 Member

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    he's a quality player but $5 mil. per year is too much considering jason lane is probably a better player. but, seriously, are the astros at any point going to ATTEMPT to make this team better? i know they were in the nomar runnings, but other than that i'm not convinced we are really being very active. supposedly the cubs are looking at acquiring tejada, why aren't we? i know some people are going to tell me to stop "b****ing" but i just want drayton and the front office to make a strong attempt at making this team a WORLD SERIES champion contender, which means another big bat in the lineup and probably another starting pitcher.
     
    #6 Hakeem06, Dec 23, 2005
  7. Major

    Major Member

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    What makes you think we're not?
     
    #7 Major, Dec 23, 2005
  8. Hakeem06

    Hakeem06 Member

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    ^^^^
    because if we were there would probably be some rumblings about it. when the red sox inquired we all heard about it and now that the cubs are looking into him, we have heard about it. looking into acquiring a former MVP usually leaks to the press.....
     
    #8 Hakeem06, Dec 23, 2005
  9. Rocketman95

    Rocketman95 Hangout Boy

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    We weren't mentioned as candidates for either Randy Johnson or Carlos Beltran either.

    That's the problem with all the complaining. Everyone assumes what they hear in the media is all that's going on. It's not.
     
    #9 Rocketman95, Dec 23, 2005
  10. Major

    Major Member

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    Maybe our front office is simply better at staying quiet than the Cubs or Red Sox. Or maybe the media in those cities are more nosy.
     
    #10 Major, Dec 23, 2005
  11. NJRocket

    NJRocket Member

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    I'm guessing that we were never in the mix if the "other teams" were looking for him to play CF.

    Not for nothing....he could have played right and Lane would have moved over. I certainly hope that was at least a discussion.
     
    #11 NJRocket, Dec 23, 2005
  12. Hakeem06

    Hakeem06 Member

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    you have a point about the press, i'll take you up on that. but we were mentioned about beltran, i remember that vividly.

    regardless, i'm just saying eventually things will get through the cracks. if an offer is made, you eventually hear about it. i sure hope that we are being active but right now, it doesn't appear to the case.
     
    #12 Hakeem06, Dec 23, 2005
  13. NJRocket

    NJRocket Member

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    They signed Spivey too....pretty cheap. Regardless of what you think of the actual players, the Cards front office does a heckuva job filling holes...and they dont necessarily overspend all the time. They downgraded Morris to Ponson...at worst they washed out the loss of Sanders with Encarnacion and they took a sllight hit at 2B from Gruz to Spivey (not even sure if thats a downgrade when all is said and done other than Spivey's injury history).
     
    #13 NJRocket, Dec 24, 2005
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2005
  14. Angle02

    Angle02 Member

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    Ughh... St. Louis didn't get Burnett. Toronto got him. Maybe you are thinking of Ponson?
     
    #14 Angle02, Dec 24, 2005
  15. NJRocket

    NJRocket Member

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    my bad....u are correct....that hole was filled quite poorly
     
    #15 NJRocket, Dec 24, 2005
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